The 2024 NFL Draft was a bountiful one for Texas.

Eleven Longhorns were drafted over the three days of the draft as the school set a modern era program record for most players drafted in one season. Defensive tackle Byron Murphy was the first Longhorn off the board at No. 16 to the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night and wide receiver Jordan Whittington was the final Longhorn drafted on Saturday when he was chosen in the sixth round by the Los Angeles Rams.

Only Michigan had more players drafted than Texas did this year. The national champions had 13 draft picks as six Wolverines were picked on Friday during the second and third rounds of the draft.

Texas’ draft production this season is a sign of how far the program has rebounded under Steve Sarkisian. Texas made the College Football Playoff for the first time in 2023 before losing to Washington in the Sugar Bowl. The Longhorns won the Big 12 for the first time since 2009.

Murphy wasn’t the only Texas player picked in the first round, either. The Chiefs traded up from No. 32 to No. 28 to get wide receiver Xavier Worthy. The two-time defending Super Bowl champions’ pick of the speedy wideout gave Texas multiple first-round picks for the first time since 2007.

Yes, it’d been 17 years since Texas had more than one first-rounder. In 2007, defensive backs Michael Griffin and Aaron Ross were taken in the first round. Since then, just five Texas players had been picked in the first round of the draft as the program has experienced some lean times. No Texas payers were drafted at all in 2014 and just 16 players were picked overall from 2013 to 2019.

With the Longhorns heading to the SEC in 2024, there’s legit reason for optimism in Austin. QB Quinn Ewers is back for another season and the Longhorns added the No. 3 recruiting class in the country along with a strong group of transfers. With Worthy and AD Mitchell off to the NFL, Texas replenished its wide receiver room with Alabama’s Isaiah Bond, Houston’s Matthew Golden and Oregon State’s Silas Bolden.

Texas players drafted in 2024 NFL Draft

There was a question as to whether the Rams would use their first first-round pick since 2016 on a quarterback. After they didn’t, word emerged that their current quarterback wants more of his remaining contract to be guaranteed.

There continue to be no accidents or coincidences on matters of this nature. With the Rams not landing one of the top six quarterbacks in the 2024 draft, the leverage swung back to Stafford.

On Friday, the issue inevitably came up during coach Sean McVay’s in-draft press conference. McVay did his best, as he often does, to tiptoe around the topic.

Is the report that Stafford wants more guarantees accurate? Activate polite non-answer.

“Yeah, I’ve had good dialogue with Matthew,” McVay said. “We’ll keep those things in house, but he’s been working with our guys and we’ll keep those things in house.”

Will Stafford by present for OTAs, the key third phase of the offseason program? Be non-committal.

“He’s been working with our guys the last couple weeks,” McVay said. “And so that’s kind of where we’re at with that.”

Will the Rams find a solution to the contract issue? Avoid topic entirely.

“We’re definitely jacked to have Matthew as our QB,” McVay said.

So he’ll be at OTAs? Relent to the situation and provide something close to a real answer and then change the topic.

“We’re going to take it a day at a time,” McVay said. “We’ll see. So we’re going to try to figure it out. There’s nothing that’s more important than making sure that he feels appreciated and he knows how much we love him and want him to lead the way. I think that commitment that I think he wants to have can be reciprocated and we want to work towards figuring that out. On a positive note, I’ll say this. You get [Blake] Corum and you get [Kamren] Kinchens. For us to be able to come away with four players who we have a consistent appreciation for. If you told us that these were the four guys that we’d be able to come away with after the first two nights of the draft, their makeup is unbelievable in terms of the intangibles, the mental toughness. These guys all have a physicality to their game. They’re mature men and that’s the kind of guys that we wanted to be able to bring in. It’s such a credit to [G.M.] Les [Snead, his group, the amount of work that they’ve done and then working in combination with our coaching staff. There has been unanimous excitement for all four of those picks and tomorrow will represent an opportunity for us to improve as well.”

Stafford’s options are limited. He could skip OTAs, since they’re voluntary. He could ask for a trade, but it’s a little late for that. Most if not all seats are filled. (The Raiders and Giants are the two teams that were considering a quarterback on Thursday night but didn’t draft one.)

He could retire, something the Rams very quietly hoped he might do a year ago (they’d never admit it, just like they denied they asked him to rework his contract in 2023 before Stafford said they did). But he’d owe the Rams $36 million in unearned signing bonus — and he’d be giving up $31 million in fully-guaranteed salary this year, plus another $10 million in fully-guaranteed salary next year. That’s $77 million.

Stafford is wisely applying pressure in order to ensure he doesn’t get thrown overboard after the current season. They’d need to make a quick decision (there’s a $5 million roster bonus due on the third day of the league year), but they’d definitely be able to move on after 2023 with only $10 million owed. Stafford wants that number to be higher, ensuring as a practical matter that they won’t cut him.

The last practical piece of leverage Stafford would have is to take the bare-minimum approach to 2023: I’m not showing up early. I’m not staying late. I’m not studying film at home. I’m not working on Tuesdays. I’m not doing a damn thing more than what I’m contractually required to do. If you don’t appreciate me enough to give me more security, I’m not giving any more than I’m required to do.

Would Stafford do that? That’s the real question. It’s easy to think it or even to say it, but he’s a competitor. He won’t want to half-ass what could be his final year in L.A.

The Rams shouldn’t want to risk it. They should make a two-year commitment to Stafford, with the understanding that they’ll revisit the situation after 2025. It’s not hard, if they really want him for the next two years. If the very quietly only want him for one more year, it gets complicated.

The fact that it’s currently complicated suggests that, indeed, the Rams only want him for one more year. Stafford is wisely calling them on it now.

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Joey Ortiz hit a run-scoring single in the 11th inning and finished with a homer and four RBIs to lead the Milwaukee Brewers to a 7-6 win over the New York Yankees on Friday night.

Owen Miller, inserted as a pinch runner for former Yankee Gary Sánchez at second to start the 11th inning, advanced to third on a fly ball to right field by Brice Turang. Ortiz then singled through the legs of third baseman Oswaldo Cabrera, driving in the winning run.

New York’s Jose Trevino, on second to start the 10th inning, scored on a double to the wall in left-center by pinch-hitter Giancarlo Stanton. Milwaukee tied the game in the bottom half of the inning when Willy Adames singled to center, scoring William Contreras and tying the game at 6-all.

Jared Koenig (2-0) picked up the win with two innings of relief. Michael Tonkin (1-3), claimed off waivers from the New York Mets on Thursday, took the loss.

New York’s Juan Soto made his 800th career hit special, sending a 0-1 cutter 103.9 mph over the left-field wall in the first inning off Colin Rea.

The Yankees went ahead 2-0 in the second when Alex Verdugo launched a solo homer. Ortiz tied it with his first career homer, a two-run blast to left in the bottom half of the inning.

Blake Perkins gave Milwaukee a 4-2 lead in the third with a two-run homer to right-center, his third of the season.

Trent Grisham put the Yankees ahead in the fourth with his first home run of the season, a three-run shot that traveled 404 feet to right.

Yankees starter Luis Gil was chased in the sixth inning when Sánchez hit a lead-off double and scored on a sacrifice fly by Joey Ortiz.

Gil allowed five runs on six hits with two walks and six strikeouts in his first career start against Milwaukee, a no-decision.

Rea allowed five runs on four hits with three walks and four strikeouts.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Yankees: OF Jasson Domínguez (right UCL tear) continues to improve and is a few weeks away from playing in a game.

Brewers: LHP Wade Miley said he needs Tommy John surgery. The 37-year-old lefty (0-1, 6.43 ERA in two starts) was put on the 15-day injured list with left elbow inflammation on April 22, retroactive to April 19.

UP NEXT

Yankees: LHP Carlos Rodón (1-1, 2.70 ERA) makes his sixth start of the season and will face Brewers RHP Joe Ross (1-2, 4.05 ERA), making his fifth start this season and first against the Yankees since May 9, 2021, while pitching for the Washington Nationals.

49ers trade up, select Kansas O-lineman Puni No. 86 overall originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SANTA CLARA — The 49ers return all of their top linemen from one of the top offenses in the NFL last season.

And on Friday, they added a promising player whom general manager John Lynch clearly envisions becoming a long-term starter.

The 49ers traded up to select offensive lineman Dominick Puni of Kansas with the No. 86 overall pick in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft.

The 49ers dealt their third-round pick at No. 94 and a fourth-rounder (No. 132) to the Philadelphia Eagles to select Puni.

Puni comes to the team and likely will compete for a role in his rookie season — wherever the 49ers want to use him.

“I think Dominic Puni is one of the few players in this draft who can play all five spots on the offensive line,” said Jim Nagy, executive director of the Senior Bowl, on 49ers Talk.

The 49ers have reason to feel good about the state of their offensive line with each of their starters back from a year ago: Left tackle Trent Williams, left guard Aaron Banks, center Jake Brendel, right guard Jon Feliciano and right tackle Colton McKivitz. Feliciano replaced Spencer Burford late last season.

But there is also reason for them to look to strengthen that unit and prepare for the near future when there figures to be some moving pieces. Williams, who turns 36 in July, is set to enter his 14th NFL season, while Banks and Feliciano are signed only through the upcoming season.

Puni (6-foot-5, 313 pounds) began his college career at right tackle at Central Missouri in 2018 before shifting to left tackle the next two seasons.

After transferring to Kansas in 2022, he played left guard. And last season he started every game at left tackle. Puni could compete for playing time on the right side of the offensive line.

Puni does not figure to be just handed a starting job along the 49ers’ offensive line. He will have to earn it.

The 49ers are coming off a season in which the offensive line overcame some early season struggles on the right side of the line and ended up coming together down the stretch of the season.

In 2021, the 49ers selected Banks in the second round with the No. 48 overall selection. He ended up playing just five offensive snaps all season as guards Laken Tomlinson and Daniel Brunskill remained as the 49ers’ starters for the entire season.

Banks took over at left guard the following season after Tomlinson signed with the New York Jets as a free agent.

The 49ers are coming off a season in which their offensive line ranked No. 9 in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus’ grading system.

Running back Christian McCaffrey won NFL Offensive Player of the Year while leading the NFL with 1,459 rushing yards. He finished third in the NFL MVP voting while quarterback Brock Purdy placed fourth.

The 49ers became the first team in NFL history to have a running back (McCaffrey), two wide receivers (Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel) and a tight end (George Kittle) registered 1,000 yards or more from scrimmage in a single season.

In the 16 games with Purdy at quarterback (with the top seed in the NFC clinched, he sat out the team’s Week 18 game), the 49ers averaged 29.4 points and 404.5 yards of total offense.

Purdy set the 49ers’ single-season record with 4,280 yards passing, led the NFL with a passer rating of 113.0 and was sacked just 28 times.

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Why 49ers, Cowboys among NFL draft Day 2 winners, losers originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Day 2 of the 2024 NFL Draft is in the books.

Following the plethora of offensive talent taken in the first round, the second and third rounds saw much more defensive talent come off the board.

Cooper DeJean went to the Philadelphia Eagles, Kool-Aid McKinstry went to the New Orleans Saints and Edgerrin Cooper became a Green Bay Packer, among other picks.

Elsewhere, wide receivers continued to be in demand. Keon Coleman went to the Buffalo Bills, the Los Angeles Chargers picked Ladd McConkey and the New York Jets nabbed Malachi Corley, among others.

So, with one more day to go, let’s delve into five winners and losers from Day 2 of the 2024 draft on Friday:

With second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson set to return after a season-ending injury as a rookie, Indianapolis made sure to add top-end pieces to support him.

The Colts picked up Texas wideout Adonai Mitchell in the second round (No. 52 overall), giving Richardson one of the brightest talents available in that position. Mitchell is a robust vertical threat who should pair well alongside fellow receivers Michael Pittman Jr. and Josh Downs, as well as running back Jonathan Taylor.

Then, in the third round, they picked tackle Matt Goncalves from Pittsburgh (No. 79 overall) to bolster the offensive line. He might not start right away but can become a key piece in front of Richardson in due time.

Not to harp on the Falcons even more after the drama from Round 1, but they could be nitpicked from Round 2. They drafted Clemson defensive tackle Ruke Orhorhoro with the No. 35 overall pick, passing on Johnny Newton (who went the next pick), T’Vondre Sweat (two picks later) and Brandon Fiske (three picks later).

Atlanta traded up to take Orhorhoro, so it’ll need to make sure he develops properly in order to avoid the regrets of passing up on arguably better talents.

Picking edge Bralen Trice of Washington in the third round (No. 74 overall) was fine given his pressure rates, but it’s not always the best thing when your third-round pick is viewed as the best of the bunch.

Quinyon Mitchell going to the Eagles might rival it, but Renardo Green could very well develop into the best cornerback from this class. The 49ers picked the Florida State defender with the last pick in the second round (No. 64 overall).

Green can play corner, nickel and safety and showed flashes of brilliance against top wideouts in college. San Francisco already has Charvarius Ward and Deommodore Lenoir as starters, but both have expiring contracts and Green can be put on the slow burner for the season.

San Francisco then addressed offensive line needs by adding the versatile Dominick Puni out of Kansas in the third round (No. 86 overall). Puni didn’t allow a single sack on 343 pass-blocking snaps in 2023, per Pro Football Focus. The 24-year-old could be used across the line.

After picking wideout Ricky Pearsall in the first round, the 49ers could have three ready-now players hoping to make an impact to reach the Super Bowl again.

Jerry Jones publicly talked up the idea of drafting running back Jonathon Brooks on Thursday, but the Cowboys ended up seeing him get picked by the Carolina Panthers at No. 46 overall.

Dallas instead selected Western Michigan edge Marshawn Kneeland at No. 56 overall before getting Notre Dame linebacker Marist Liufau at No. 87 overall.

The Cowboys still don’t have a clear-cut RB1 after Tony Pollard’s departure. The Ezekiel Elliott rumors only will grow.

Head coach Jonathan Gannon was only eight the last time a team drafted seven players within the first 90 picks. That happened with the Cowboys in 1991.

Arizona drafted a little of everything, from fortifying Kyler Murray’s offensive options to adding better defensive talent. Here are there first seven picks:

• Round 1, No. 4 overall: WR Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio State

• Round 1, No. 27 overall: DE Darius Robinson, Missouri

• Round 2, No. 43 overall: CB Max Melton, Rutgers

• Round 3, No. 66 overall: RB Trey Benson, Florida State

• Round 3, No. 71 overall: G Isaiah Adams, Illinois

• Round 3, No. 82 overall: TE Tip Reiman, Illinois

• Round 3, No. 90 overall: CB Elijah Jones, Boston College

It’s a promising start for an Arizona side that finished dead last in the NFC West last season at 4-13. The Cardinals still have five more picks on Day 3, so more talent could be on the horizon.

Stop us if you’ve heard this before: the Philadelphia Eagles nabbed a star college defender who probably shouldn’t have fallen to them.

The Eagles at least made some of their own luck on Friday, trading up to grab Iowa defensive back Cooper DeJean with the 40th overall pick after his slide out of the first round. They made the trade with the Washington Commanders, reportedly sending away the No. 50, 53 and 161 picks in exchange for No. 40, 78 and 152.

DeJean was widely seen as a potential first-round pick going into Thursday, ranked by Yahoo Sports’ Nice Tice as the No. 18 prospect in the draft. He wound up not hearing his name called, and he had to wait a while in the second round too.

In DeJean, the Eagles are getting a versatile defensive back who helped give Iowa one of the best defenses in the country last year. His prowess as a returner is also a significant asset now that kick returns are poised to make a comeback due to recent NFL rule changes.

Here’s what Tice had to say about DeJean:

That sounds like a perfect fit for an athletic and mean Eagles defense, which has made a habit of picking up underdrafted prospects like Jalen Carter. Philadelphia went for another defensive back in the first round, picking up Toledo cornerback Quinyon Mitchell with the 19th overall pick.

Doubling up isn’t surprising considering cornerback was one of Philadelphia’s biggest needs entering the draft.

The Eagles are considered one of the better drafting teams in the NFL under general manager Howie Roseman. Sometimes, that means letting the draft come to you. Other times, you have to make a move for a prospect you want.

Report: Patriots turned down these Giants, Vikings trade offers for No. 3 originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The New England Patriots ultimately decided to keep the No. 3 pick in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft and take North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye.

But at least two teams made strong offers to acquire the pick from the Patriots.

Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer reported that two NFC teams called the Patriots and made offers, but it wasn’t enough to get New England to move the No. 3 pick.

“The Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants did make offers to the New England Patriots for the No. 3 pick to take Drake Maye,” Breer wrote Friday. “Earlier this week, Minnesota offered the Nos. 11 and 23 picks, and its 2025 first-rounder, with pick swaps favoring the Vikings as part of the proposal; and that offer ticked up with New England on the clock. The Giants, meanwhile, did wind up putting their 2025 first-round pick in their offer to move from No. 6 to No. 3.

“Ultimately, nothing came close to moving the Patriots off their choice. In fact, that Kevin O’Connell and Brian Daboll were the head coaches interested, only emboldened New England to stay put.”

If the Patriots think Maye can be a franchise quarterback, then it made the most sense to keep the pick and take him.

The AFC is absolutely loaded with elite quarterbacks, and if the Patriots are going to be a contender in the conference anytime soon, they’ll need a top 10 or top 15 player at that position. Maye has all the physical tools to be a very good pro quarterback. It’s now up to the Patriots to develop Maye and surround him with enough high-end skill on offense. Addressing needs at wide receiver and offensive tackle on Day 2 of the draft would be a good step forward in that regard.

The Vikings did end up getting a quarterback in Round 1 despite not being able to move up to No. 3. They traded up from No. 11 to No. 10 in a deal with the New York Jets to select Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy. The Giants stayed at No. 6 and took LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers. New York currently has five more picks in the 2024 draft, including No. 47 overall (from the Seahawks) in the second round.

We probably won’t know for a few years whether the Patriots made the right decision to turn down these trade offers from the Giants and Vikings. But it’s hard, at least in the moment, to fault the Patriots for taking a chance on a prospect like Maye. His potential is fantastic.

In a continuing effort to improve player safety, the NFL is allowing a piece of hardware to move from the practice field to regular game play.

On Thursday, the NFL released video of a recent health and safety webinar in which a league executive revealed that players would be allowed to wear padded Guardian Caps during games this upcoming season.

“There is the option for a player to wear it in a game if he so chooses,” said Dawn Aponte, the league’s chief football administration officer. “There were a number of clubs that had already required all of their players to wear those. And last year, we had also expanded it to include regular-season practices, helmeted practices and postseason.”

(The video can be viewed here, with Aponte’s remarks at the 37:45 mark.)

As Aponte mentioned, the NFL mandated wearing Guardian Caps during early training camp practices for all players except quarterbacks, kickers and punters. Last season, that requirement was also applied to regular-season contact practices.

According to the NFL, a player wearing a Guardian Cap could have the impact of a helmet hit reduced by at least 10 percent. Players both wearing the shell who collide on a helmet-to-helmet hit had the force of impact reduced by at least 20 percent.

In 2021, the Los Angeles Rams opted to continue using the caps during practice later in the season to prevent further injury among players. Quarterback Matthew Stafford injured his hand hitting an uncapped helmet while following through on a throw, according to USA Today.

Whether players choose to wear the padded shell helmet cover during games remains to be seen until the NFL preseason and regular season begins. Some might opt not to wear them so they don’t stand out on the field. For instance, J.J. Watt said during training camp in 2022 that wearing the cap made him “feel like a bobblehead” that could “fall over.”

However, others may choose safety over aesthetics. Aponte said players and teams were “very receptive to the change.” Additionally, players were being encouraged to use position-specific helmets based on particular risk factors for head injuries.

Each week of the baseball season can be counted on to deliver something new and fun. Here are the best things we saw in the fourth week of the 2024 MLB season.

Tyler Duffey returns to the mound after health scare

It’s never too early in the season for a feel-good story, and this week, Kansas City Royals reliever Tyler Duffey delivered a lot more than your typical April relief appearance when he made his season debut for Kansas City on Monday after being recalled from Triple-A Omaha.

The 33-year-old right-hander was diagnosed with melanoma during spring training and underwent successful surgery to remove the cancer from his shoulder. Since then, Duffey had been working to rehab and return to the mound.

Well, not only did Duffey return Monday, but he also had a strong showing in his first game with Kansas City, tossing two scoreless innings with three strikeouts in the Royals’ 5-3 loss to the Blue Jays. In case you forgot, Duffey was one of the best relievers in baseball with Minnesota from 2019 to ‘21, with a 2.52 ERA in that span.

Of course, baseball is secondary in this story, and the game results are not the most important thing. What is important is that Duffey is healthy and cancer-free, a comeback we can all root for.

Pete Crow-Armstrong’s first hit is one to remember

Chicago Cubs rookie outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong has been one of MLB’s top prospects for a few seasons now, and after a brief cup of coffee last season, PCA returned to the big leagues this week still in search of his first hit in the majors.

In a tie ballgame Thursday against the Astros, Crow-Armstrong made sure that his first big-league hit was extra special. The Cubs’ top prospect launched a no-doubt, two-run shot off Houston reliever Bryan Abreu, sending a packed Wrigley Field into a frenzy and giving the Cubs the lead en route to a 3-1 victory.

PCA — the No. 15 prospect in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline — might’ve been called up due to Cody Bellinger’s broken ribs, but he clearly has talent that could be a huge asset for the Cubs in the interim.

Shohei Ohtani: Doubles machine

During baseball season, it seems that not a day goes by without two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani doing something to amaze, and lately, he’s doing something we haven’t seen from him before. Going into Friday’s game in Toronto, Ohtani has accumulated an MLB-leading 14 doubles in just over four weeks of play.

For perspective, his teammate Freddie Freeman set a career high with an MLB-leading 59 doubles last season and through 26 games this season has hit five doubles. Ohtani’s start has him set to fly past that. The two-time MVP is currently on pace to hit more than 80 doubles, which would shatter the record of 67 in a season, set by Earl Webb in 1931.